Their backs with dedications on each.

The tower peeking through the trees...

We're almost there...

We've arrived at the Tokyo Tower in the Hamamatsucho / Daimon area of Tokyo. A trip to the main observation deck (150 meters) was around 8 bucks, half the price of riding up the Space Needle. However, once you get to the main observation deck, they tell you that there is a super secret "special observatory" another 100 meters up that will cost you extra. Tricky! I didn't want to shell out the extra ticket money so I stayed grounded (sorta).

The Tokyo Tower celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. This fully operational broadcast tower opened in 1958 and is 333 meters tall when measured from the base to the tip of the lightening rod atop. This makes it the world's tallest self-supporting steel tower, beating the Eiffel Tower by a slim 13 meters.

Check out that big foot! The four support legs created an overall footprint for the tower that was much larger than I had imagined.

My artistic shot looking up at the center elevator shaft running through the tower.

This shot was supposed to reflect the majesty of riding the elevator up the tower, but it didn't turn out so well. Just like Seattle's Space Needle, this tower ride has a pretty young lady dressed in a goofy uniform operating the elevator. Unlike the Space Needle however, she doesn't give a spiel as you ride. You listen to a prerecorded message in Japanese that encourages you to visit the gift shop rather than give you any useful information about the tower.

I guess this is pretty much what you'd see if you decided to leap from the observation deck...assuming there was no glass that is.

Here is Noppon, the mascot of the Tokyo Tower. According to my English tourist pamphlet, he has a younger twin brother who wears red overalls. Noppon's motto is (and I quote): "Look at things with a hot heart with the cool touch." I love Japan!

Once you take the elevator ride back down, you are purposefully left off four floors above ground level, smack dab in the middle of this "carnival." The hope is that you'll empty your wallet doing something in conjunction with that giant Anpanman and Pikachu.

A shot of the Tokyo skyline from atop the Tokyo Tower. Pictures like this show how truly jammed packed and squished together real estate is in this city.

Another shot of Tokyo from up high.

It was a pretty clear day today, so you could see all the way to Odaiba from the top of the tower. If you look closely you can see the Fuji TV building with the orb in the center.

Here's a neat looking pyramid-type building. I don't know what it is. Sorry, I'm not a very good Tokyo tour guide.

Many of the school buildings have what looks like a field or astroturf on top. Some high schools will have their mascots / logos printed on the roof of the building.

A little sliver of green can be seen wedged in between the urban chaos that is Tokyo.

I also happened to stumble across a Pokemon specialty store in the area, known as the "Pokemon Center." This place had pretty much every Pokemon themed item one could think of, from flatware to Pikachu shaped macaroni. If you or a loved one are infatuated with Pokemon critters, look no further than this store!

You can find any Pokemon product conceivable in this place.

This main display welcomes you inside the Pokemon Center store in Daimon.

Here's my favorite Pokemon from the store. Know why? Cause he's a PENGUIN!!! At least I think he is...

Look, it's everybody's favorite Pokemon, "That one!"

...And we simply cannot forget "this one!!!"

Here's a poster for the latest Pokemon movie which comes out later this month. Will they ever stop making these? I think not! The title makes absolutely no sense to me...something about a bouquet of flowers in the sky?

I just had to buy this new drink when I saw it in the convenience store. Those who read Japanese will be able to immediately identify what's so funny.

For those who don't...I'll let you in on the joke. The drink's name is PENIS!!!

You're drinking PENIS!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Okay, I'll act my age now.

EDIT: After sampling the stuff I can verify that it tastes exactly like...Calpis! What did you think I was going to say?

On Tuesday I traveled to an unfamiliar area of Tokyo known as Kōjimachi in order to attend a hiring event for the company Capcom. For those unfamiliar, Capcom is one of several world-famous Japanese software companies that produce games for home consoles, portable systems, arcades, cell phones, pachinko machines, etc. The company has many incredible series to its name, including Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and Mega Man. If you love videogames, chances are you love Capcom too!

The event was held on the fifth floor of the City Center Hotel. After verifying that I was in the right place (you never know in Japan), I rode the elevator to the fifth floor and sat in the lobby. Aside from a young man I saw scribbling fiercely into a sketchbook the size of his chest, the lobby was devoid of activity.

When the clock struck 1 PM on the nose, a short Japanese woman wearing a ring on every possible finger opened the doors to a large seminar room and let us inside. It was time to begin.

With precision that can only be described as uniquely Japanese, we were all instructed to file into our respective seats as quickly as possible without unnecessary verbal utterances. The seating was arranged in five columns, with each column being composed of a series of three-person occupancy rectangular tables. The right three columns of tables were the designated seating area for the game designers. The next column was the designated seating for the game programmers, and the leftmost column was for us: the musicians.

Since I was the first “composer” to enter the room, I filed into the first table, leftmost seat; two young Japanese men quickly took the spaces next to me rounding out our bunch. Looking at their emotionless glum faces, perhaps now wasn’t a good time for us to think up our table group cheer and synchronized hand gestures?

In total, I would say there were approximately 150 bodies present, including myself, the singular white person in the room. As the seating suggested, prospective game designers made up the majority of the group (around 100 people). I counted around 30 potential musicians and slightly fewer programmers. Given that Capcom hosts several of these events at locations around Japan, I was given a good idea for just how desired creative jobs like this really are.

Next, “excessive rings” lady took the stage upfront and instructed us to look at the documents on the table. Placed in front of us was a glossy information book about Capcom with pictures of the awesome games they make, as well as a company questionnaire that asked basic questions, such as your desired position in the company, your favorite videogame, and the make and model of your personal computer.

Excessive rings lady then introduced Mizuguchi-san, and with that, the information section of the event was underway. Mizuguchi-san looked to be in his mid thirties with unkempt hair and faded blue jeans. He joked that his last name has “mizu” in it (the Japanese word for water) because he loves water.

(Pause for laughter) – The room is dead silent.

Visibly shaken by the poor reception of his joke, he took the opportunity to feebly point to his button-up shirt design which displayed Felix the Cat riding around on different water vessels. Hey, I guess the guy really does like water! It was too late for me to start laughing though, that moment had passed.

Mizuguchi-san started his presentation with an observation. In truth, I had made this same observation while entering the room – nearly everyone was wearing a full business suit! I, on the other hand, was wearing slacks and a stripped shirt.

When I first arrived, I assumed that all the suit clad Japanese youth were in the hotel for a different event since our instructions had clearly stated that we were to all wear casual clothes. Evidently Mizuguchi-san and I were the only ones who got the memo.

Thus, one thing I learned is that the term “casual dress” for Japanese job seekers most directly translates into a full suit, tie, dress shoes, gloves, tails, opera glasses, and horse drawn carriage. Mizuguchi-san stated that all the suit-clad kids must be quite hot. He instructed everyone to remove their neckties and relax.

(Pause for action) – The room is dead silent, no one moves a muscle. All eyes remain fixed forward.

“Er…well then, moving on” was his next utterance. I had to fight back laughter. With the formalities out of the way, Mizuguchi-san gave a rundown of each section (designer / programmer / sound) and what each type of employee usually does. I was quite pleased to find that I understood everything being said.

Some of the nuggets I learned were that most console games have increasingly long development cycles of 1.5 to 2 years, and that teams are assembled for each game. That is, one will work with the same team on the same project until completion and doesn’t have the ability to migrate or switch to a new project in the middle.

Mizuguchi-san also said that all game ideas are generated from staff members. Then, pending approval (and a host of other concerns), teams are assembled and the games are developed. The take home point was that anyone in the company (according to him) can suggest game ideas and have a role in the larger creative process. This bodes well for the creation of Ben Whaley’s Hallway Runner.

At the conclusion of his informational briefing, Mizuguchi-san and excessive rings lady began distributing our written tests. This produced glum faces from my seat neighbors who now started to look more and more like they were in front of a firing squad. Maybe now was the time for our group cheer? No…not yet!

The event materials had described this as a “test relating to music items.” In truth this was a fairly accurate description. The test consisted of 20 or so multiple choice questions followed by a few short answer essays.

The multiple choice section was hit and miss, not so much because of the fact that it was all in Japanese (I understood what they were asking), but because I just didn’t know some of the answers. I was able to successfully identify the components that make up music and sound. I also knew what the abbreviation MIDI meant! By contrast, when I got to the few questions that dealt with converting audio sources and file name extensions, I had no choice but to guess. Wikipedia says I guessed right on at least one!

I think a basic digital music or recording course in college would have taught me all the answers, since I got the feeling that the concepts were all fairly elementary. Alas, I took no such course, so I did the best with the knowledge I had.

There were three short answer questions. The first asked you to write what you thought was a good use of music in a game and why. I chose the game Shadow of the Colossus (PS2), because, while there isn’t a ton of music in the game, when the soundtrack does chime in, it’s very memorable and emotional.

The next question was to write about a game or film score that you were particularly impressed by and why. I chose to gush about Nintendo scores for their memorable melodies (probably a fairly stock answer I bet).

The final question gave us this scenario where we were on a spaceship with a few others and could never return to earth. We were asked what we would bring and what mental preparations we would make.

I wrote that I would say goodbye to my family and loved ones and that I would name stars after them so they would be with me even in space. I used some incredibly sappy phrase like, “And as I see the stars whizzing by, I will remember you…always.” For the second part, I said I’d bring a guitar or some sort of instrument, so the people onboard and I could make music on the way over. I felt like I needed to tie it back to music somehow!

Whenever I’m put in timed situations like this and forced to be artistic and creative in Japanese, I always default to sappy anime sentimentality. But hey, I dare you to think of something more poignant with 10 minutes left on the clock while struggling to remember kanji radicals! How I longed for my electronic dictionary…you have NO idea!

In summary, were I Japanese, I would rate my grade on the test a C / C+. However, being a Gaijin I would give myself an A- overall. Since I’m sure I will be graded as if I were a Japanese person though, I will likely get the C/ C+ in the eyes of the HR manager. It doesn’t matter…I felt that it was a very valuable experience regardless of the result.

With my test, resume, and questionnaire submitted, there was only one thing left to do…

TABLE GROUP CHEER!!!

I was the only one who participated.

B.E.W.

Here is the City Center Hotel in Kōjimachi, Tokyo where the CAPCOM event took place.

Here is the sign outside the event seminar room. If you can read Japanese it says CAPCOM: Informational Event / Hiring (Selection) Event.

When The Gods Want Tonkatsu...

...They Reach For Saboten Tonkatsu! That's the slogan I'd pitch to the board anyways.

Believe it or not, out of the entire gamut of Japanese food, there are some items that I don't care for. One such item is tonkatsu, or breaded pork fillets served with shredded cabbage and a thick brown "tonkatsu sauce." While I can eat salty fish roe sacks till morning, I've never had the desire to eat a full tonkatsu meal unless forced to do so at chopstick point.

That is until my boss Okuno-san at Columbia dropped a small sandwich box in my lap two years ago. It was love at first bite! To this day, Saboten Shinjuku Tonkatsu is the only tonkatsu I've ever honestly enjoyed. They make these small tonkatsu fillet sandwiches that use flavored Cupie Mayonaise and the super fluffy bread that Japan is known for. Basically, they're all around deliciousness in a box.

I searched online and found a nearby delicatessen Saboten store (they also have fully functioning dine-in Saboten restaurants). The helpful store clerks were happy to load me up with tonkatsu goodness.

If you're ever in Tokyo, be sure to visit the flagship Saboten store in Shinjuku and taste the only tonkatsu I'd ever put in my mouth.

YUM!

B.E.W.

"X" marks the spot for the not-so hidden treasure that is Saboten Tonkatsu.

This little box contains everything you could ever want and everything you could ever need.

I should have made an unboxing video for YouTube.

Behold the glory that is Saboten Tonkatsu in high definition!!!

Bumper Cars

This morning I was walking down Asakusa's main drag to the post office in order to mail off a few copies of my Japanese resume, when I saw firetrucks start whizzing by me. First one...then two...then three. Something was up.

As I approached the post office, I noticed that all the emergency vehicles were stopped right in front of the entrance. My first (selfish) thought was, I wonder if something happened at the post office that is going to prevent me from sending off these resumes.

On further inspection, the culprit for all the commotion was a fairly serious looking auto accident directly in front of the post office. Somewhat surprisingly the post office was fully intact and fully functional when I arrived, so I was able to mail off my resumes. The pictures below show exactly what happened.

I stood in a mass of Japanese people, all of us gawking and snapping pictures for a good five minutes (I mean what else do you do?). Luckily nobody was seriously injured in the accident. The airbag in the cab deployed and I saw the police questioning the taxicab driver a ways down the street.

Still, it's sort of scary to think that had I left 10 minutes earlier I would have had a front row seat.

Buckle up everybody!

B.E.W.

The picture is pretty self-explanatory; a taxi plowed into a telephone poll knocking down the traffic signal. Yikes!

This is Ben Whaley on the scene reporting live for White Boy News!

The signal was completely knocked over and smashed into the street.

PASMO!

Excuse me while I gush about my PASMO! In my opinion, PASMO is the best thing to hit Japan since fried shrimp patty sandwiches found their way to McDonalds.

As anyone who has been to Tokyo can tell you, navigating all the separate commuter train and subway routes is hard stuff. It can be hard for Japanese people, not to mention “deer in the headlights” eyed gaijin who stare at the colorful matrix of squiggly route lines in utter confusion as grand central station swirls around them.

PASMO takes much of the confusion of having to stare at confusing route maps and buy exact fair tickets away. While transportation cards are nothing new in Japan, they were always with stipulations; such as, cardholders could only ride on the subway lines, or, cardholders could only ride within Tokyo proper, etc. Since many railways are owned by small private companies, oftentimes a pass wouldn’t work at smaller stations and with smaller independent lines.

PASMO (which was introduced last year…so it’s new to me) is standardized and can be used on virtually any line within the city big or small (as well as city busses and other modes of transport). You can buy a personalized pass with your name on it and recharge it with funds at nearly any ticketing machine. Plus, since the card is magnetized, it can be kept in your wallet when going through the ticket gate. All you have to do is hold your closed wallet up to the scan pad and within seconds you’re granted access, with the fare being automatically deducted from your account.

Needless to say, the PASMO is incredibly handy and it makes commuting in Tokyo as easy as I’ve ever known it. The only potential warning is that you have to be sure to keep track of your card balance by looking at the display screen as you leave the ticket gate. Since you’ll find yourself whizzing through any ticketing gate like it’s nobody’s business, money can drain quickly as you transfer from route to route.

Yay for technology! Yay for PASMO!

B.E.W.

I was at the Sunshine City mall in Ikebukuro yesterday buying personal items when I stopped in the Toyota showroom to snap a few pictures. Here's a robot that plays the trumpet and performs shows twice daily. I hate to say it, but this robot seems like a blatant ripoff of Honda's ASIMO. I also think that this robot must have picked up the trumpet in an effort to compete with ASIMO, who recently conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Does it look like a female robot to you too?

I'm pretty sure this is the same single occupancy concept vehicle I took pictures of two years back. Oh well, it is still neat looking.

The Toyota concept vehicle up close. If you take a look back at science fiction, weren't we all supposed to be riding around in things like this in the year 2000? I'm still waiting...

Just like back home! They also have Seattle's Best coffee shops here in Japan in limited numbers as well.

Behold the coolest new phone on the planet! This robot phone is the Toshiba 815T PB (PB stands for Phone Braver). It is being sold exclusively by SoftBank and retails for around $300. Modeled after the character from the TV series K-tai Investigator 7, the phone makes many animated faces and talks in set phrases to convey its current emotion. The exoskeleton accessory shown in the picture lets you pose your phone in any position you'd like.

*Disclaimer: Please note that the 815T Phone Braver needs your assistance to move, dance, and play badminton. While incredibly lifelike, the 815T Phone Braver should not be used as a substitute for human companionship.

A neat display I passed for a trendy looking bar named "Sincerely." For some reason this reminded me of a high security vault from a spy movie.

Here's a closeup of one of the drinks, the "Negroni."

A temple I passed while walking somewhere in the Tokyo.

The koi in the pond outside a popular Asakusa restaurant have gotten so BIG! I guess that's what two years will do for you. They all wanted food. That much was clear. I love you P1 and P2!!!

Yesterday I saw lots of fellow white people around Asakusa. It's sad to say that my secret garden is fast being populated with filthy gaijin! Oh wait...I'm one of them too? In general I've seen lots of foreigners strolling around Tokyo (more so than I remember from before anyways). I think it must be a popular tourist time. Here's a boat that you can ride down the river on a sightseeing trip.

The famous Asahi Beer building in downtown Asakusa. Since I had never been up close and personal with the place I decided to take a stroll across the bridge and see it up close.

A closeup of the beer mug building itself.